Thursday, December 9, 2010

The faculty and staff Christmas dinner will be held Tuesday, Dec. 21. Hors d’oeuvres and cocktails begin at 6 p.m. in the dining room. Dinner will be served at 7 p.m. RSVPs are due today, Friday, Dec. 10, to Campus Box 30.

The Christmas Light Service — a retelling of the Christmas narrative through readings, carols and tableaus — will be held 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 16, in Saint Thomas More Chapel.

Following the service, the Office of Academic Affairs and Chartwells Food Service will sponsor the traditional Pre-finals Christmas Breakfast for students from 10 to 11:30 p.m. in the dining room. The breakfast is served by faculty and staff and is typically attended by 700 students. Participants will also join the students in singing Christmas carols, and Santa will make an appearance.

A reception for our colleagues from Saint Mary’s institutes in Nairobi, Kenya, Brother Paulos Mesmer (director of Christ the Teacher Institute for Education) and Father Michael Kirwen (director of The Maryknoll Institute for African Studies), will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 17, in the Toner Student Center Lounge. A presentation will be given from 3:30 to 4 p.m. Punch, beer, wine and cheese, and hot hors d’oeuvres will be served. RSVP by Tuesday to Jo Nesler at jnesler@smumn.edu or Ext. 1664.

The Saint Mary's University men’s hockey team enjoyed a day at the United Center — home of the NHL’s Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks — Sunday, Dec. 5. The visit was made possible through Chicago Blackhawks President and 1975 Saint Mary’s alum John McDonough.

After completing games Friday and Saturday in Milwaukee, on Sunday the 29-member team was treated to a tour of the Blackhawks facility, including the team’s locker room, weight room, training room, equipment room and all levels of the United Center. The Cardinals closed their day by watching the Blackhawks beat the Calgary Flames.

The SMU ceili dance class will host a ceili from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12, in the Cardinal Club. Music will be provided by Garrigan’s Quarrel, a traditional Irish music group from Wabasha, Minn. Everyone will be invited to join in the dancing, but spectators are also welcome.

The ceili class will demonstrate some of the many dances they learned this semester, and will also invite others to participate in some of the more popular, well known dances. This is a chance to put a little Irish in your holiday cheer. For more information, contact Kate Flanagan.

The Saint Mary’s University Concert Choir, Chamber Singers and Women’s Choir will present their annual holiday tribute, “Lessons and Carols,” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11. The concert will also feature the Saint Mary's Chamber Orchestra.

The performance — a celebration of Advent and the Nativity through song and spoken word — will be held at Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels, located at Wabasha and Vila streets.

Music will include familiar carols, as well as selections by a variety of composers from the Renaissance to the present.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors and are available by calling the SMU Box Office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

WINONA, Minn. — The 18-piece Saint Mary’s University Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combo I and World Drum Ensemble will combine for an evening of hot jazz to melt away the chill of the season 7:30 p.m. today, Friday, Dec. 10, in SMU’s Page Theatre.

Both jazz groups are directed by professor of music Dr. John Paulson, and the World Drum Ensemble is directed by SMU alumnus and adjunct music instructor Denny McGuire. The featured guest soloist for the concert will be guitarist Chris White from Appleton, Wis. The big band will play a swing-oriented set and a Latin set, along with players from the World Drum Ensemble.

The first set will include the great standard “Old Devil Moon,” arranged by Dave Wolpe; Jerome Richardson’s “Groove Merchant,” featuring the sax section; “Passion Flower” by Billy Strayhorn, with Tommy Quinn of Cannon Falls featured on alto sax; and “Blues ’n More” by Mike Steinel, which includes a small combo within the big band playing some super fast bebop blues. Also planned for the first set is a world premiere of a new arrangement by Paulson, which is a medley of three previous compositions “Cloud Theory,” “Sum Blues,” and “Cafe Renoir.”Highlights from the Latin set will include John Coltrane’s “Naima,” arranged by Craig Skeffington, done in a Latin style; Dizzy Gillespie’s hit “Manteca;” a new chart by Mike Carubia called “Hablemos;” “Maputo,” a smooth jazz-groove tune by Marcus Miller; and the well-know hit from Woodstock by Carlos Santana, “Soul Sacrifice,” arranged by Michael Phillip Mossman which will showcase the skills of White on guitar and combine the jazz ensemble with support from the World Drum Ensemble.

The jazz ensemble will also be selling their first CD release, “Staycation,” at the performance.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors and are available by calling the SMU Box Office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, or online at www.pagetheatre.org. For more information, contact Dr. John Paulson at Ext. 1596 or jpaulson@smumn.edu.

WINONA, Minn. — Two jazz workshop combos, directed by John Paulson and Eric Heukeshoven of the Saint Mary’s University Music Department, will present a free concert Sunday, Dec. 19, from 2-4 p.m. at the Acoustic Café, 77 Lafayette St.

This event will feature student musicians who have been playing together all semester, and it will serve as their “final exam.” They will be playing well-know jazz standards by composers like Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Miles Davis, as well as some unique hybrid arrangements of popular jazz tunes blended with familiar Christmas tunes by Heukeshoven. An added plus will be the “Smashing the Windows” folk trio, featuring SMU students Kara White, Marie Stier and Hugh Stier.

Severe weather conditions may occur this winter that necessitate the official cancellation of classes or create conditions that make traveling unsafe, even if the university remains open. Saint Mary’s is reluctant to close the Winona campus because so many of its students are in residence. However, weather conditions may occasionally prevent individual faculty members and other staff from traveling safely to campus.

A determination to declare a snow day will be made in consultation with other administrators by 6:30 a.m. A snow day means that classes are canceled and offices are closed.

In the event classes are canceled for an entire day, the following area radio and TV stations will announce this:

WINONA

KWNO (FM99.3 and AM1230)

KAGE (FM95.3 and AM1380)

KHME (FM101)

LA CROSSE

WIZM (FM93)

WXOX-TV

Rochester: KROC (FM106.9 and AM1340)

KTTC-TV

If a cancellation takes place right before or after a break period, the following will be notified:

TWIN CITIES:

WCCO Radio/TV (AM830/Channel 4)

KSTP-TV

CHICAGO:

WBBM-AM, WGN-AM (radio stations)

WBBM, WFLD, WGN, WLS, WMAQ (TV stations)

When calling the Emergency Closing Center, 1-312-222-1669, enter SMU’s main telephone number (507) 452-4430 when prompted to do so, and you will receive an automated message. You may also check online at www.emergencyclosings.com.

As with any class cancellation, you may refer to the main bulletin board in Saint Mary’s Hall or call the Class Info Line (Ext. 7878 or 457-7878 from off campus).

An SMU student, Logan Patrick Davis Lanz, was featured in a video done by the Spanish news in Seville about Thanksgiving.

The Spanish news channel TVE recently featured students in Seville as they shared Thanksgiving dinner in Spain. The report teaches Spaniards about the American tradition, while students express the importance of the holiday and of celebrating it together while they are away from home.

All undergraduate students were invited to participate in a campus wide call for entries, and this exhibition highlights the variety and diversity of our students. On display are student artworks from more than 14 majors, including Chemistry, Journalism, Theology, English, Theatre, Marketing, Biology, Electronic Publishing, Art Studio, Graphic Design, and others.

Dr. Ned Kirk, chair of the Music Department, recently performed at one of Asia’s premier concert venues, the Esplanade Center in Singapore. He performed with violinist Qian Zhou, the head of strings at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore, and cellist Li-Wei, silver medalist at the 11th Tchaikovsky International Competition and first prize winner in the 2001 Naumberg Competition.

An opportunity to learn about the Staff/Faculty/Administration SOUL trips will take place today from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. in Toner Student Center Room B. Past participants will share their stories.

Learn how the Lasallian mission is being lived out through the San Miguel SOUL trips to Chicago. Last May, staff and and faculty went on the first SOUL trip of this kind. Employees are invited to consider participating in one of the two trips planned for this year or simply learn about the initiative by attending a session. The first trip is Jan. 12-14 and the second trip is May 16-18.

Saint Mary’s is inviting the public to the annual “SMU 10K” classic ski event on Sunday, Jan. 30. A classic-style citizens ski event will begin at 10 a.m., and a skate race will begin at 1 p.m.

“We’re very fortunate to have an excellent trail system here that is both scenic, as well as challenging," said Chris Kendall, vice president of student life.

Both races will be held at Saint Mary’s University, home to one of the region’s finest cross country trail systems. The trails wind through the bluffs and valleys above the Mississippi River.

The event is open to the public.

On-site registration will begin at 8 a.m. for the classic ski and 11 a.m. for the skate race, both at the SMU Toner Student Center. The cost is $10 for one race or $20 for both; the fee includes a souvenir race bib. Medals will be awarded for men and women in open and recreational classes.

For more information or to receive a registration form, call Gary Borash at Ext. 8740 or e-mail gmbora05@smumn.edu.

The grandmother of Sara Titus, wife of Steve Titus, senior vice president of University Advancement, passed away recently. The Saint Mary’s University community extends its sympathy to the Titus family.

Look ahead on your calendars. Next week, Dec. 17, is the last ‘Campus Notes’ before break. The deadline for this issue is Wednesday, Dec. 15. The next issue will be Friday, Jan. 21. The deadline for that issue is Wednesday, Jan. 19.